


Where We Began

by Kumiko



Series: Time and Time Again [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: 180 turn, Awkwardness, Clumsiness, Conspiracy, F/M, First Crush, Fluff, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Marriage, Minor Character Death, Off screen romance, Pregnancy, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-07
Updated: 2015-03-07
Packaged: 2018-03-16 19:46:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3500648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kumiko/pseuds/Kumiko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of how Loki met her, was enamored by her, and lost her. <br/>What was once happiness, turns into a massacre.<br/>Conspiracies unfold, new alliances are made.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Prequel of Time and Time Again (TaTA) -You should read TaTA first, then the prequel</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where We Began

Antonia tempted death every day. She didn’t much care. She really shouldn’t be on Midgard. She didn’t belong with the humans. Some were even mutated! She wouldn’t admit loudly, but she found humans fascinating. She wouldn’t stay in one place too long because Midgardians died so quickly. Her mother had warned her about that… constantly. Antonia was just turning 684, she was practically a baby still, so romancing the fragile, short-lived creatures wasn’t so enticing. She’d shown up about 200 years ago, back when war was more universal, but not as graphic as it had been in the past. Her mother had told her those stories before she went to sleep. 

“I’m Antonia.” She murmured again, under her breath in her living room. She’d stole the name so that she could fit in, and not look terribly dated. Her mother had named her Brynhildr. Nobody in America –that she knew of –was named quite like that in the 21st century. 

She looked down at her phone. She remembered having a human friend one, Margueritte LaGaurdia. She was terribly beautiful, and she could actually put up with Toni’s incessant need to talk with no real purpose. It was a true shame she had to marry the brother of her lover, and was caught cheating. The lover and she had both been hung. 

Toni watched the news. More tabloids and reports on the Avengers, mainly reporters slandering Anthony Stark’s name. She watched him. She stole his name. It wasn’t suspiciously original; plus, he was always in the spotlight. 

“Brynhildr!” She heard her mother call. She spun around and tackled the woman. “Mom!” The woman laughed, and peppered Bryn’s face with kisses. “What were you up to?” Her mom asked. 

“Nothing much. Just watching this really popular Midgardian named Anthony Stark. He’s causes so much destruction for people… when he dies, can I keep him?” She quietly begged. Her mother sighed. “For you, baby, anything. Why him? He’s not loyal, at all. He’ll only hurt you.” 

“Momma, he’s interesting. That’s all. I’m not even at the age of being sexually active.” Her mother snorted. “You’re trying to call me old, aren’t you?” She said, eyeing her mom. 

Her mom shook her head, feigning innocence. “Of course not, baby. You want that worthless Midgardian; you will have him. Tell me about your job. You know, the troublemaking one.” Her mother said changing the subject. Antonia worked for an organization called SHIELD. She recently left, changing her name and life, but it’d been fun until the Avengers stopped the realms’ utter destruction. Toni told her mother about killing this corrupt government leader before he took office. His second-in-command was a member of Hydra, but everyone was none the wiser. 

“I’m happy you’re having fun. See you soon, baby. Stop by anytime.” Her mother said, pecking her on the cheek. “Of course, Momma.” 

Her mother shifted into smoke, and disappeared. Toni was used to this. Her mother had explained that she was widely feared, and known, as Mistress Death. Nobody, not even Hela, crossed her mother. Toni loved her mother; most days, she couldn’t understand why people feared the woman, but when a dwarf tried to kill her, she was quickly shown why people feared her mother. Her mom had gone overboard a little bit. Her mother said she’d understand after she had kids why she went crazy. Toni just accepted that she’d never understand. 

Just as Toni went to get another movie from her plethora of films in the armoire, a bright light of green erupted in her kitchen. She rushed in and saw a battered, lump of flesh. The flesh was red and blue. She knelt next to it, and did the dumbest thing ever. She poked it. _Nice, Bryn. You don’t know how crazy… whatever this thing is_. The thing didn’t even flinch. Toni lifted some tattered clothes to see a blue face that enchanted her, cupped by bloodied hair. She could imagine that –without the blood –this person would be gorgeous. Yes, she checked if the creature was male, and _Wow_ , someone was definitely heavily endowed. 

She didn’t have powers like her mom, she would just had to suffice with manually carrying the lump of flesh to her bathroom. She’d have to do some intense cleaning after this. 

She touched the blue, and heard an extremely quiet sizzle. It was a heavy indicator that the man’s skin was bad for Midgardians… and most gods. So why did he teleport into her place? She slowly undressed him, in case he woke up from the pain, and placed him in her tub. It wasn’t easy either. He was _heavy_! 

She cleaned his body from all the blood and dirt. She was right, he looked absolutely breath taking, even if he was blue. Actually, especially since he was blue. She bit her lip. She usually didn’t think of people as “enticing”, but this man… 

He opened his eyes, and the water steadily froze around him. “S-Sigyn?” He asked in the language of the gods. She went wide eyed. Her mother would have a heart attack. Toni was told specifically to avoid the gods because of their aversion to her mother. She just hoped this god wouldn’t be stupid and anger her mother. 

“Bless you… I think.” She said, watching him quickly heal. His skin turned to the color of an Aesir. She went wide eyed. _Oh shit._ “You’re not blue, anymore. Ah, I actually liked it.” He stiffened and went to stand. She blushed and turned away from him. “Whoa there, buddy! At least let me leave.” 

“I don’t understand you.” He said speaking in English, maybe he understood up-to-date colloquialism. He obviously wasn’t stupid, which bothered her immensely. A god with a brain? That was an accident waiting to happen. 

“Well, you see… I’ve never seen a man naked before, save for you, but that was for the sake of making sure you healed, which was fast, by the way. How come you healed so fast? Is that normal for blue people, or are you the exception? Hey, you should go back to the blue. It was pretty. And those red eyes… wait, is it okay for me to say you’re pretty? You’re not offended, are you? I hope not because I didn’t mean to. My name is Antonia, by the by. What’s your name?” 

He stared wide eyed, just staring hard at her until he finally answered her. “My name is Loki.” 

She gasped and her hand covered her mouth. “You’re _Loki_? As in the god of a bunch of stuff who tried to take over Midgard? The brother of that ideological puppet Thor? Son of no one? Holy cow! I can’t wait to tell my mom. She’ll be pissed that you’re a god, but-“ 

“Stop talking, Antonia.” 

She blushed; he gave her a worried look. “It’s the way you said my name.” She mumbled. 

“What? Why? Did I say it wrong or something?” 

“No, your way of pronouncing it is _more_ than fine. I mean, damn! Your voice is the stuff of legends. Speaking of legends, why do they call you Silver Tongue? I have been-” He held up his hand to silence her again. 

“Listen, Antonia,” no she did not shiver, “you will not tell anyone I’m here. Especially not your mother. I require sleep. That is all, then I’ll leave.” 

“What? Please don’t leave! My mother will know you were here regardless, and I’ve been terribly bored since I quit my job. As you can tell, I haven’t spoken to anyone besides my mother.” She stood and held her hand out to Loki, who was still in the bath. “I have towels.” She said handing one to him. “Will you stay?” 

He was frowning at her. “You make no sense, mortal. How did you know of me? My existence is undercover. And who could mother be that she’d know I was here without your telling?” He demanded in succession. 

“I’ll only say if you agree to stay for, at least, three days.” He narrowed his eyes at that. “Fine.” 

“Promise me.” She said, knowing his promises were taken very seriously. His glare spoke volumes of how he thought of her, and it would need dynamite to get to gutter status. “Fine, I promise to stay here for, at least, three days.” He said, wincing from the promise. 

“Come on. You can just magic clothes on, right? I don’t know a thing about clothes shopping for gods.” 

“Answer me.” 

“You should be nicer to me, Loki. Isn’t it proper manners to be kind to the person who helps you?” His jaw tightened. “Do you, purposefully, annoy beings stronger than you?” 

Toni laughed. “I annoy my mom plenty. Besides, you agreed to be here three days. You gonna be alone with a corpse for three whole days?” He rolled his eyes. “Just answer the question.” 

She flushed. “Would you believe me if I said I forgot what you asked? 

“Based on how mindlessly obtuse you’ve been, yes; yes, I believe you choose to ignore other people talking.” She wrinkled her nose at that. “Hey now! I resemble that! I think you asked how I knew you, yeah? It’s because you’re kind of a big deal. Plus, I’ve been fascinated by you and the nine for my entire life.” 

Loki frowned. “Yes, but why did you assume I was a god. You didn’t even know my name.” She laughed. “Two words: blue skin.” 

“That’s true, I’ll leave that for now. Who is your mother?” 

Toni fidgeted. “Well, I’m not sure if-” 

“The deal was three days for answers to my previous questions.” He reminded, observing his nails. “Fine, but don’t get too angry. You’d know her best as Mistress Death.” 

He paled, even more, which should’ve been an achievement. He went still as a statue. “You’re Mistress Death’s _daughter_? How is that possible? Who’s your father?” Toni shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. “I dunno. I never met him. Mom doesn’t talk about him ever.” 

He cursed a string of profanities. “You made me promise although you knew I’d be furious.” He accused. 

“Hey! Curiosity killed the cat. I never forced you to promise. You wanted to know. Plus, I just wanted someone to talk to that’d talk back.” He growled in response, and she blushed. 

Was this what her mother kept mentioning? Was Toni attracted to Loki? Only a fool would pass appreciating Loki’s beauty. 

“Do you know… T-Thanos or The Other?” He asked, clearly disturbed about saying their names. She shook her head. “Nope. Never heard of them. I’ve only ever been with mother –wherever she goes –and on Midgard.” 

“How old are you?” 

“Why do you want to know?” 

He just gave her a look until she caved. “I’m 684. I’m passably 18 here.” He went wide eyed. “Norns no.” He whispered, and one of her eyebrows rose. “What?’ 

“You’re a child, Antonia. Your mother will most likely finish what Thanos and The Other started.” Loki said, looking a bit nervous. “Not if I ask you keep you.” 

“What?” He said sharply, making her jump a little. He noticed and sighed. “I’m sorry. What do you mean?” 

“Well, my mom usually lets me keep beings if I want them. I get to keep Iron man whenever he pisses mom off enough. He likes to do that, tempt her. She’ll probably watch him closely in case your daughter takes him, or tries to. 

Loki frowned. “What does that mean?” 

“People fear my mother for a good reason. It also means that she’ll resist the urge to erase your existence. Or take you to the one-eyed bastard.” She said going into the kitchen to clean it. “Did you clean this? Ah, you’re a sweetheart, aren’t you? A sexy sweetheart. Wow, I should stop talking.” 

“You really should.” Loki said exasperatedly. Toni had a feeling that being with Loki was going to be the best experience of her life. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

The first day consisted of Loki ignoring her; so she rambled on and on, until he couldn’t stand it anymore. He finally talked back to her, granted it was rudely, but it was something. She suggested they watch movies, but discovered Loki was a book person –which was so cool because she was too. So they read books together. He actually allowed her close enough to him to read right beside him. They read tons of classics, and she introduced him to Oedipus Rex. A story that always made her feel nauseas; Loki seemed to agree after finishing it. They ate baked spaghetti –that took her only two times to perfect –but Loki liked it enough. 

The second day, they watched movies from her unending collection. They watched scary movies, romances, comedies, and sci-fi. He really liked the sci-fi. He once said that some Midgardians were so creative with their entertainment, but not their thought process. She had to agree completely. They watched stand-up comedians, and both of them were in tears from laughing so hard. She glanced at him, silently thankful he was entranced with the television. He was handsome. She’d never been with someone who liked what she liked, disagreed with what she thought, fought against her numerous times, and still acted like her friend in the end. Was Loki her friend? She smiled. After Margueritte, she thought she would always be alone. For a long time, she was okay with that. And then came Loki. 

“Hey, Toni, what’s your real name?” He asked suddenly. She blinked. “Why?” 

“Do I want to know? Because it’s quite obvious you’re not named Antonia. Plus, if I’m going to be here, I should at least know your real name.” 

She blushed. “It’s Brynhildr.” 

“Ah, that’s a nice name. I see why you changed your name.” She nodded. Were they closer to friends? Bryn only hoped. 

The third day started off perfectly. Bryn blasted music and cleaned. Loki helped, while they –with a lot persuasion involved –sung the songs together. When Bryn heard Loki laugh, she felt her chest squeeze tightly. She wanted to bottle up his laughter. She wanted to bottle him up, and protect him from whatever hurt him before. They finished cleaning and slumped in a chair. “Cleaning manually is so exhausting.” Loki commented. “But it’s more fun, yeah?” 

“When I have your annoying singing to drown out the actual job.” He teased, and she lightly shoved him. “You’re terrible, too.” They could’ve started a band called Toneless. All they needed to do was put some auto tune on it and voila, success. 

“Brynhildr!” Her mother’s voice called, and Bryn stiffened, she but stood up anyway. “Mom!” She called back, and hugged her mother as she entered the living room. Her mother froze. “What is _that_ doing with you? Answer me!” Bryn had never seen her mother so furious before. “That happens to be a person. His name is Loki.” 

“Why is _Loki_ with you? What have you done to my daughter?” Her mother shouted, but Loki looked imperturbable. “Mom, listen to me-” 

“No, let him answer. Why are you here? How did you find this house?” 

“I didn’t go looking for this place. I managed to escape from your pet, and wound up here.” 

“You look healed. Why are you still here?” 

“In two more hours, I will leave. Per my promise to Brynhildr.” 

“Don’t you dare say her name, you m-“ 

“Mom! He’s mine, you can’t hurt him!” 

Her mother looked at Bryn in disbelief. “Why do you always want to keep what nobody wants?” Her mother asked, while seething. “That’s a lie. Have you properly met Loki? He’s funny, gorgeous, and-” 

“No. Don’t tell me…” 

Bryn flushed. “No! We’re just friends, mom.” She turned to Loki hesitantly. “We are friends, right?” 

He gave her a nearly nonexistent smile. “Yes, we are. I can assure you, I wouldn’t dare help someone clean their house if I couldn’t tolerate them.” 

“But Bryn, he has more enemies than you have years of life. What if-“ 

“So do you, mom; but Loki wouldn’t hurt me.” 

Her mother turned to Loki with a hostile glare. “Promise her. Promise me you’ll never hurt her.” 

Bryn knew it was impossible to never hurt someone, but Loki walked to her and promised. “I promise you, Brynhildr, that I will never intentionally hurt you.” He said. Bryn saw him wince from the pain. 

“Why’d you do that?” She asked, but he must have perfected the same arts her mother had in ignoring her. Her mother wasn’t happy, but she accepted the promise. “If you fail to protect her, Hela won’t be able to even scrape your soul from the ground.” 

The two stared at each other for a long time before her mother ruffled Bryn’s short black hair. “Just be careful, baby, okay? If you ever need me, just do what you always do.” Which meant call her name, not her real one. 

Her mother left, and Loki sighed. “I’ll be honest, this is the first time I’ve met someone’s mother that could effectively threaten me, and carry out the threat. But I can’t say I mind.” He walked to Bryn. “It’s been a while since I’ve have someone I could depend on. I must leave, however.” 

She looked down. She didn’t want to show that she was disappointed. “Oh? When? 

“In less than an hour. I’ve… unfinished business to attend to.” He said, changing his outfit to what he was wearing before –minus the tears and blood. “Oh, well then. Be careful.” She wanted to ask him to come back, but she didn’t want to be clingy, like some of the men and women were in the romance novels she read. 

She felt Loki touch her chin and lift her face to look into his. “I’ll be back before you know it.” He said, and stepped back, vanishing like her mother does. 

It didn’t hurt that he was gone. Her home just felt empty, lonely without Loki –someone with her. She laid down on the couch; staring at the television. He said he’d be back, but she wished he never left. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

Loki did his appearing and disappearing act for six months. She heard things about his life that she’d never heard before. She resented everyone who hurt him. He was hers, but she resisted the urge to voice her anger. Bryn quickly discovered that Loki came to her whenever his life became too complicated, or when he was heavily wounded. She also learned that the Avengers still have it out for him, even though he stopped causing problems three months ago. She supposed they were just waiting for him to strike. 

Bryn was at the store with Loki buying groceries for dinner. It was his turn this time. She glanced at him while he –domestically –observed the prices and chose items that fit whatever dish he had in mind. She blushed. They looked like a couple, but she was still stuck in the friend zone because Loki thought she was too young, which was true since she was younger than his youngest child, and he had four that were still alive. 

She knew if she didn’t assert her feelings, she’d remain forever a friendly child to him. She wouldn’t wear nothing but lingerie like last time. That particular incident ruined her confidence. She showed up in the living room, when he appeared, in a lace bra and a garter belt. She was wearing the matching underwear, which weren’t the edible kind this time. He saw her and his face remained blank as he pulled his coat from thin air and covered her up. She’d been so embarrassed, she had to be dragged out of her room by Loki just to eat. 

So yeah, she desperately needed a new approach. They bought their stuff, and Loki drove back to her place. He carried the groceries whiles she fumbled for the keys. “I shudder to imagine how you survived before I came along.” Loki joked, going inside after her. 

“Hey now! I can do things without messing up too much.” 

“Sure you can. That’s why we had to buy the dishwasher last month, right?” She mumbled under her breath about rude people. Last month she tried doing dishes without her mother’s “accident prone” magic, as her mom called it. That ended in Loki having to buy a dishwasher, a new set of plates, cups, and bowls, as well as a first aid kit. Right after breaking the dishes, she panicked knowing either Loki or her mom would show up, so she grabbed the glass shards. Worst. Idea. Ever! That incident hadn’t helped her win any “I’m a capable adult” points with Loki. So he bought it and enchanted it with the same “accident prone” magic; ensuring she couldn’t use it without magic protecting her from herself. 

She was more competent than this! She’d been a top SHIELD agent, damnit! It was all Loki’s fault. She could never do anything right when he was present of mentioned –physically or mentally. The very sight of him left her speechless. 

Bryn knew these symptoms very well, courtesy of all her books and movies, she was in L-O-V-E. And Loki wouldn’t notice her! 

She watched Loki cook; watched him pull his hair back and wash his hands before starting. She loved watching him cook, watching him do things he never got the chance to do before. She always prayed to whomever would listen that they’d protect Loki’s happiness. He deserved this happiness. 

“What?” He asked, turning to her, and she followed her instinct. She gently cupped his face, and kissed him. It was a shy peck on the lips before she stepped back, embarrassed. 

Loki looked away from her. “I’m sorry, Bryn, but I can’t.” 

She felt something shatter inside. _Of course, he couldn’t love me back. What was I thinking? It was so obvious_. Bryn felt tears collect in her eyes as she looked down and nodded. She could do this. Her chest constricted tightly. “T-that’s okay.” Her voice sounded rough, like she hadn’t used it in years. “I didn’t really expect-” She choked off before the pain of suppressing her tears and pain took over. 

Loki grabbed her shoulders. “That’s not what I meant.” He said desperately as she silently cried, covering her face with her hands. He pulled her hands back, and held her face, brushing tears away. 

“I didn’t mean it that way.” He whispered and she frowned at him. He was breaking her heart, and his excuse was that he didn’t mean it that way? 

“Then how did you mean it? I’ve been practically throwing myself at you to notice me, Loki! You don’t even say I’m a nuisance, you just ignore all my attempts even though I love you so much it hurts.” She shouted crying even harder. She stiffen when what she said finally kicked it. “N-n-n-no! You didn’t hear that! Just pretend I didn’t sa-” She fumbled until Loki kissed her eyes, then her cheeks, and then her lips. 

It was the sweetest kiss she’d ever known or felt, seeing that Loki was the first person she felt attracted to, that meant the world to her. Her first kiss felt like there was an entire fanfare wishing to congratulate her. Loki’s hands on her face and waist was distracting, but his tongue worked magic she didn’t know what to do. 

He pulled back, putting his forehead against her. He still held her. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just wanted to wait. You’re still young, you have plenty of people to choose from. You shouldn’t want me, Bryn. You should be happy with someone who deserves you.” 

“Isn’t that for me to decide? I’ve seen those “plenty of people to choose from”, and none of them were you. You make me dizzy, speechless, calm, happy, comfortable, and a lot of other things I can’t even begin to describe. I could’ve been content with wanting you as a friend, but I’m selfish, Loki. I don’t think I could sit and watch someone else stay by your side. I want be there with you.” She said, summoning all her courage before admitting to the turmoil in her body. 

Loki chuckled. “Then I must be selfish, too. I could ask if you’re sure, but it’s more than obvious.” They fell into a comfortable silence after laughing. They just stood, holding each other while the food went neglected. \------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's Note:**

> So I finally finished typing this first part. Yay! The next part will be released sometime soon, i can't really say when. I had a lot of fun with this series/fandom, but now I'm doing an Original Work, and another fanfic in the AoT fandom. I've made myself super busy for no reason other than idea!
> 
> Kudos, Comment, or whatever!


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